Toe iron for safety ski bindings

ABSTRACT

The toe iron comprises a pivoted member, which is rotatable against the force of at least one spring about a pivot pin, which is at right angles to the surface of the ski and which is held on a baseplate secured to the ski. The pivoted member carries a soleholder member, which is also rotatable about a pivot pin which is at right angles to the surface of the ski and when the toe iron is in normal position the soleholder member is engaged on both sides of the longitudinal center line of the toe iron. The soleholder member bears on the pivoted member and by means of another pivot pin and a pivoted lever is linked to the pivoted member. The pivoted lever consists of a two-armed lever and that arm which does not carry the soleholder member is formed with a slot, by which the lever is mounted for rotation and for a sliding movement in the longitudinal direction of the lever in a vertical pivot pin, which is also held on the baseplate, all pivot pins lie on the longitudinal center line of the toe iron when the latter is in its normal position, and the maximum distance between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever is less than the distance between the two pivot pins secured to the baseplate.

United States Patent Axthammer 3,658,355 [451 Apr. 25, 1972 TOE IRON FOR SAFETY SKI BINDINGS [72] Inventor: Ludwig Axthammer, Schweinfurt, Main,

Germany [73] Assignee: Hannes Marker, Garmisch-Partenkirchen,

Germany [22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 22,909

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Apr. 2, 1969 Germany ..P 19 17 117.6

[52] US. Cl.. ..280/11.35 T [5 I] Int. Cl ..A63c 9/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..280/11.35 T

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,405,951 10/1968 Berchtold et al ..280/] 1.35 T 3,037,785 6/1962 De Place ...280/l 1.35 T 3,348,854 10/1967 Marker et al.... ..280/1 1.35 T 3,430,971 3/1969 Berlenbach ..280/11.35 T

Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. Song Attorney-Fleit, Gipple & Jacobson [57] ABSTRACT The toe iron comprises a pivoted member, which is rotatable against the force of at least one spring about a pivot pin, which is at right angles to the surface of the ski and which is held on a baseplate secured to the ski. The pivoted member carries a soleholder member, which is also rotatable about a pivot pin which is at right angles to the surface of the ski and when the toe iron is in normal position the soleholder member is engaged on both sides of the longitudinal center line of the toe iron. The soleholder member bears on the pivoted member and by means of another pivot pin and a pivoted lever is linked to the pivoted member. The pivoted lever consists of a twoarmed lever and that arm which does not carry the soleholder member is formed with a slot, by which the lever is mounted for rotation and for a sliding movement in the longitudinal direction of the lever in a vertical pivot pin, which is also held on the baseplate, all pivot pins lie on the longitudinal center line of the toe iron when the latter is in its normal position, and the maximum distance between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever is less than the distance between the two pivot pins secured to the baseplate.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 25 I972 SHEET 10F 2 Fig.2

LUDWIG AXTHAMMER INVEN'I'URI 0\/ i n 9 ATTORNEYS PATENTEDAPR 25 I972 SHEET 2 0F 2 LUDWIG AXTHAMMER INVIIN'I'ORI ATTORNEYS member is engagedon bothsides of the longitudinal center line ofthe toe iron.

In such toe irons, which have been disclosed, e.g., in the French Pat. specification 1,505,528, the soleholder member is directly mounted at the free end of the pivoted member. The

soleholder member is supported on both sides of the longitudinal center line of the toe iron by means of respective pins, which engage noses formed on the baseplate.

Whereas these toe irons have a good principle of operation, they have a disadvantage which does not permit a satisfactory operation of the toe iron in every case. In addition to the toe iron, the safety ski binding comprises a heel-holding device, which forces the skiing boot against the toe iron in order to ensure a satisfactory control of the ski. Owing to the design of the toe iron, in which the soleholder is pivoted to the pivoted member, a lateral pivotal movement of the soleholder imposes on the toe iron a simultaneous component of movement towardthe tip of the ski within the so-called elastic zone. In this connection, the inventor has conceived the object to design a toe iron of the kind previously described so that the skiing boot cannot move to theitip of the ski within its elastic zone so that a return of the skiing boot to its normal position,

v e.g., after a small lateral pivotal movementas a result of a shock, need not takeplace against the contact pressure exerted byvthe heel-holding device.

A toe iron for ski bindings, which-toe iron comprises a pivoted member, which is rotatable againsttheforce of at least one spring about a pivot pin, at right angles to the surface of the ski and which is held on a baseplate secured to the ski.

The pivoted member carries a soleholder member, which is also rotatable about a pivot pin that is at rightangles to the surface of the ski and when the toe iron is in normal position the soleholder member is engaged on both sides of the longitudinal center line of-the toeiron. The soleholder member bears onthe pivoted member and by means of anotherpivotpin and a pivoted lever isilinked to the pivoted member. The-pivoted lever consists of a two-armed lever and that arm which does not carry the soleholder member is formed with a slot, by which the lever is mounted for rotation andfor a sliding movement in the longitudinal direction of the lever in a vertical pivot pin, which is also held on the baseplate. All pivot pins lie on the longitudinal center line of the toe iron when the latter is in its normal position, and the maximum distance between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever is less than the distance between the two pivot pins secured to the baseplate.

It is suitable to subject the pivoted member to the action of a spring, which is connected to the pivoted member by two levers. In a development of this feature of the invention, it has proved desirable to provide the two levers in the form of bellcrank levers having mirror symmetry and mounted on the pivot pin which carries the pivoted lever and is secured to the baseplate. The spring consists of a compression spring, which is held between the outwardly extending arms of the bellcrank levers. The baseplate is provided with two stops, each of which is associated with one of the last-mentioned arms of the bell-crank levers and limits the outward pivotal movement thereof, and the free ends of the inwardly extending arms of the bell-crank levers form noses for retaining the pivoted member. The retaining noses of the bell-crank levers may act on the pivot pin which connects the pivoted lever to the pivoted member.

Alternatively, a tension spring connected between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever may serve as a spring for the toe iron.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example on the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. I isa central longitudinal sectional view showing a toe iron,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line Il-Il in FIG. I showing the toe iron and FIGS. 3-5 are top plan-views showing the toe iron in different stages of the releasing operation.

The toe .iron for safety ski bindings which is shown on the drawings comprises a baseplate 1, which is adapted to be connected by screws to a ski, not shown, and for this purpose has two countersunk holes 2, 3. The baseplate is provided with a vertical pivot pin 4, on which a pivoted member 5 is rotatably mounted/This pivoted member has the configuration of a triangle which is rounded at the corners (see particularly FIG. 2). A vertical pivot pin 6 is provided at that corner of the pivoted member 5 which normally points to the tip of the ski and a pivoted lever is rotatably mounted on the pivot pin 6. This pivoted lever consists of a two-armed lever and at its arm 7 normally directed to the butt end of the ski carries by means of V a pivot pin 8 a soleholder member 9. This soleholder member is freely rotatable on the pivot pin 8 and in its portion opposite to the pivoted'member 5 has a recess 10 (see particularly FIGS. 1 and 2) so that when the toe iron is in position for skiing the soleholder will always bear at two points against the t pivoted member 5 and is normally held against a pivotal movement about the pivot pin 8. On its side facing the skiing boot, the soleholder member is concave to receive the toe portion of the sole and has a lip for engaging the top of the sole. The soleholder member may be arranged in known manner, which is not shown and not specifically described, so as to be adjustable to soles differing in thickness. The second arm 11 of the pivoted lever extends normally to the tip of the ski and has a vertical slot 12, by which the lever is guided on a pivot pin 13,

which is secured to the baseplate 1. Two bell-crank levers 14,

15, which have'mirror symmetry, are rotatably mounted on thepivot pin 13. The free ends of those arms of the bell-crank levers which extend towards the tip of the ski form spring abutments, between which ahelical compression spring I6 is held. Stops 17 and 18 are provided on the baseplate 1 and associated with the last-mentioned arms, respectively, and limit the angle to which said arms can be spread. The free ends of the inwardly extending arms of the bell-crank levers 14, 15 form respective retaining noses 19 and 20, which in the normal position of the toe iron (see FIG. 2) engage the pivot pin 6, which is held in the pivoted member 5 so that the latter is normally'held against a pivotal movement.

In the embodiment shown by way of example, the force required for a release of the toe iron cannot be changed. Such change can easily be enabled if one spring abutment is arranged in known manner to be adjustable in the longitudinal direction of the spring. To enable the retaining noses 19, 20 to engage the pivot pin 6, the pivoted member 5 is provided with a corresponding transverse groove 21. The baseplate l carries adjacent to the pivot pin 13 a spacer 22, which has the same thickness as the lower wall with which the pivoted member 5 defines the groove 21 (see FIG. 1).

The toe iron is shown in its normal condition, ready for ski ing, in FIGS. 1 and 2. In that condition, pivot pins 4, 6, 8, I3 lie on the longitudinal center line of the toe iron. When a force in excess of the initial stress of the helical compression spring 16 acts on the soleholder member 9, e.g., in the direction of the arrow 23 (see FIG. 2), which is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the ski, this force will cause the soleholder member to move against the progressively increasing force of the spring on an are having a center of curvature adjacent to the heel of the skiing boot. FIG. 3 shows the toe iron with the soleholder member which has been swung out to some extent. The movement of the soleholder member in accordance with the radius of the pivotal movement of the skiing boot is accomplished in that the pivoted lever 7/11 is moved toward the skiing boot during the movement of pivoted member. The movement of the pivoted member 5 results at the same time in a pivotal movement of the soleholder member 9, which bears on the pivoted member, about the pivot pin 6. Upon a decrease of the force which acts on the soleholder member in the releasing sense, the helical compression spring 16 returns the soleholder member to its normal position.

If a force which is dangerous to the leg of the skier acts on the soleholder member 9 not only in the form of a shock, the soleholder member is moved in accordance with the radius of the pivotal movement of the skiing boot to a predetermined position, at which the release is initiated. FIG. 4 shows the toe iron in its instantaneous position shortly before the release-initiating position has been reached. When the release-initiating position has been reached, the soleholder member 9 can perform a virtually free outward pivotal movement about the pivot pin 8, as is shown in FIG. 5. This action enables a reliable and fast release of the skiing boot from the toe iron. When the skiing boot has disengaged the soleholder member 9, the spring 16 automatically returns the toe iron to its normal position so that the toe iron is immediately ready for skiing.

It is essential for the invention that the soleholder member 9 moves about an imaginary pivotal axis of the skiing boot. As a result, the skiing boot does not perform a movement toward the tip of the ski so that it will not move toward the butt end of the ski during a return pivotal movement; such movement toward the butt end of the ski would have to be performed against the contact pressure produced by the heel-holding device.

What is claimed is:

1. A toe iron for ski bindings comprising a baseplate, a first pivot pin secured to said baseplate, a pivoted member rotatably mounted to said pivot pin, a second pivot pin secured to said pivoted member, a two-armed lever member rotatably mounted to said second pivot pin, said lever member having a pivot pin on one arm and defining a slot on the other arm, a third pivot pin secured to said baseplate and extending into said lever member arm slot, allowing said lever member to rotate and slidably move along said slot, a soleholder member, said soleholder being pivotally mounted to said one arm by said pivot means, a rearward portion of said pivoted member being in abutting contact with a forward portion of said soleholder, spring means biasing said pivoted member in a normal toe holding position and maintaining all of said pivot pins in the longitudinal center line of the toe iron, with the maximum distance between the second and third pivot pins being less than the distance between the first and third pivot pins secured to the baseplate.

2. A toe iron as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spring means includes a spring acting on the pivoted member through two interposed levers.

3. A toe iron as claimed in claim 2 wherein said two interposed levers comprise bell-crank levers having mirror symmetry, said bell-crank levers being rotatably mounted on said third pivot pin with said spring comprising a compression spring which is held between the outwardly extending arms of the bell-crank levers, the baseplate defines two stops, each stop being associated with one of the bell-crank lever's outwardly extending arms to limit the outward pivotal movement thereof, the other ends of the bell-crank levers forming noses for retaining the pivoted member.

4. A toe iron as claimed in claim 3 wherein the retaining noses of the bell-crank levers act on the second pivot pin.

5. A toe iron as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring means consists of a tension spring connected between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever.

6. A toe iron for ski bindings, comprising a baseplate defining stop means, a first pivot pin secured to said baseplate, a pivoted member rotatably mounted to said first pivot pin, a pivot pin secured to said pivoted member, a pivoted lever rotatably mounted to said pivoted member pivot pin, said pivoted lever having two arms, one of said arms defining a longitudinal slot and the other arm carrying a pivot pin, a soleholder member carried by and rotatable on said pivoted lever pivot pin, said soleholder bearing against said pivoted member at at least two points and held against pivotal movement about said pivoted lever pivot pin when in normal position a second pivot in secured to said baseplateand extending into said pivoted ever arm slot to guide said pivoted lever,

a pair of bell-crank levers having mirror symmetry rotatably mounted on said second pivot pin, said bell-crank levers having free ends extending away from said pivoted lever and holding spring means, said extending arms being limited as to the angle they can be spread by said baseplate stop means, the other ends of said bell-crank levers forming retaining noses which in the normal position of the toe iron engage the pivoted member pivot pin to hold the pivoted member against pivoted movement. 

1. A toe iron for ski bIndings comprising a baseplate, a first pivot pin secured to said baseplate, a pivoted member rotatably mounted to said pivot pin, a second pivot pin secured to said pivoted member, a two-armed lever member rotatably mounted to said second pivot pin, said lever member having a pivot pin on one arm and defining a slot on the other arm, a third pivot pin secured to said baseplate and extending into said lever member arm slot, allowing said lever member to rotate and slidably move along said slot, a soleholder member, said soleholder being pivotally mounted to said one arm by said pivot means, a rearward portion of said pivoted member being in abutting contact with a forward portion of said soleholder, spring means biasing said pivoted member in a normal toe holding position and maintaining all of said pivot pins in the longitudinal center line of the toe iron, with the maximum distance between the second and third pivot pins being less than the distance between the first and third pivot pins secured to the baseplate.
 2. A toe iron as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spring means includes a spring acting on the pivoted member through two interposed levers.
 3. A toe iron as claimed in claim 2 wherein said two interposed levers comprise bell-crank levers having mirror symmetry, said bell-crank levers being rotatably mounted on said third pivot pin with said spring comprising a compression spring which is held between the outwardly extending arms of the bell-crank levers, the baseplate defines two stops, each stop being associated with one of the bell-crank lever''s outwardly extending arms to limit the outward pivotal movement thereof, the other ends of the bell-crank levers forming noses for retaining the pivoted member.
 4. A toe iron as claimed in claim 3 wherein the retaining noses of the bell-crank levers act on the second pivot pin.
 5. A toe iron as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring means consists of a tension spring connected between the two pivot pins for the pivoted lever.
 6. A toe iron for ski bindings, comprising a baseplate defining stop means, a first pivot pin secured to said baseplate, a pivoted member rotatably mounted to said first pivot pin, a pivot pin secured to said pivoted member, a pivoted lever rotatably mounted to said pivoted member pivot pin, said pivoted lever having two arms, one of said arms defining a longitudinal slot and the other arm carrying a pivot pin, a soleholder member carried by and rotatable on said pivoted lever pivot pin, said soleholder bearing against said pivoted member at at least two points and held against pivotal movement about said pivoted lever pivot pin when in normal position, a second pivot pin secured to said baseplate and extending into said pivoted lever arm slot to guide said pivoted lever, a pair of bell-crank levers having mirror symmetry rotatably mounted on said second pivot pin, said bell-crank levers having free ends extending away from said pivoted lever and holding spring means, said extending arms being limited as to the angle they can be spread by said baseplate stop means, the other ends of said bell-crank levers forming retaining noses which in the normal position of the toe iron engage the pivoted member pivot pin to hold the pivoted member against pivoted movement. 